Author's Note:
Here we are, the first requested chapter. I was not aware of this stuff until I received the request, so this was an interesting one to make. Makes me wish they did more World of Remnant episodes, for I think those were a good way of building up the lore of Remnant without taking up minutes in the actual episodes with expository dialogue.
Oh, and my apologies for the wait.
Disclaimer: RWBY is owned by Roosterteeth, while Adalna and Florence are fan creations of Lightning-in-my-Hand.
World of Remnant - The Adalna
"Now what I have for you all is a viewing of Remnant. Joy," said Alaric to his guests as they returned to the auditorium. Most walked back, while others were instantly transported to it from whatever other part of the mansion they had been at. he suddenly produced a beach ball designed to look like the globe of Remnant.
"Our Remnant or a one completely different?" Ruby asked as she and everyone else walked to where they had all been seated during the previous viewings. She and her friends had been exploring the mansion and discussing between themselves what they had seen before finally returning to the room. There was not too much to say apart from it being very large, there seemed to be no one else inside the mansion, and the sight outside the windows was some kind of fantastical forest in perpetual night.
"Not yours, but it is similar in most ways. There are a few differences here and there. I will leave you to identify what is and what is not in your version of Remnant." Alaric replied as he produced a beach ball designed to look like Remnant from beneath his own seat. There was no way it should have fit there, it was much too largely to have, yet he had somehow kept it there regardless of that fact.
"Does it feature anything extreme like the last one we saw? That had been... horrifying." Glynda inquired, the viewing featuring Ethan Winters and those terrifying women still fresh in her mind, and that of the other audience members.
"No, not this time. In fact, this will be rather different from the ones I showed you earlier." Now that rose some eyebrows and caused some to worry about what exactly they were going to be shown.
They were told this viewing would not be as extreme as their last, yet it could mean exactly that. It would still have rather disturbing imagery, although not to the level of a man getting impaled on hooks and strung up like a piece of meat. Most hoped they would be spared anything like that for a good while as they watched the large screen in front of them come to life.
The screen was completely black, then silver text with a pinkish-red outline faded into view at the centre of the screen. The text said 'THE ADALNA'.
"Years upon years ago, a descendant of the Crystal King came to the jungles of southern Vacuo from its deserts." A female voice came through the speakers as the screen shifted to a map of Remnant. It focused on the western half of Sanus and showed a figured in a blue hood carrying a blue staff traverse from its desert region and to the peninsula at the most south-western edge of where Vacuo was. "There he established one of the first precursors for the Huntsman Academies all around Remnant today, albeit focusing more on combat and not the research of Semblances and Dust."
"He wasn't wrong. This is different to the viewings we saw before." Qrow commented as he curiously eyed the screen.
"Another narrated viewing. Hope it'll be as informative and interesting like the one with Belle," said Pyrrha as she thumbed her chin. She wondered what or who the 'Adalna' was, although she intended to wait until the viewing revealed more before before making any guesses.
"A precursor of the Huntsmen Academies. Huh, Oobleck would be excited if that is what we are focusing on." Glynda stated after hearing it being mentioned. She was not nearly as versed in history as her colleague, but she knew a fair bit thanks to her own studies while training as a Huntress and as a member of Ozpin's order. She, and everyone else for that matter, could not recall if a precursor academy existed in that precise location, though.
"'Crystal King'. I've never heard of him in all the history books I read on Vacuo. They had monarchs, but never did one go by that moniker as far as historians are concerned." Neptune added, his brow furrowing slightly as he racked his brain for any possible mention of the 'Crystal King', as well as the Adalna. To his disappointment, nothing came up.
"Then he must be an individual solely from this version of Remnant then. That, or it was a moniker used in private conversations and among select peoples." Ironwood surmised, the same logic being applicable for the Adalna. Whatever that was.
It had been interesting for most of the audience to see what they shared and what separated them from other universes. As short as those glimpses might have been. To see an inkling of how different another Remnant could be from theirs, would be even more fascinating to them.
"The King never referred to himself as a king, but his followers did. These followers formed an organisation known as the Adalna." The voice continued and a symbol appeared as the map of Remnant faded away.
It resembled a 'standing' blue serpent, its stylised head tall while the end of its tail curled backwards. It actually resembling a question mark if you looked at it a certain way. The tip of its tail had something on its end, while what looked like three spines that curved upwards decorated its back behind its head. An interesting design overall.
"At the beginning, the Adalna was focused on two things only. The gathering of knowledge from across Remnant, and the protection of Ranslate in which the hunter school was located." Silhouettes of people perusing through tall shelves filled with books were shown as the narrator spoke, followed by a settlement with three towers behind high walls at its centre. Around its outskirts, silhouettes of warriors armed with curved swords and bladed polearms stood.
"All this is going to be shown to us through this narrated silhouette style?" Yang questioned, this whole thing sounding like some documentary or those lore videos you could find on the internet. It was different was all the blonde girl could say about it right now.
It intrigued the others as well, and they wondered if they would transition from this to a view of events in real life. Like what happened with the universe featuring Karl Franz. Anyone who looked to Alaric were disappointed to see the hooded fellow just sat silently and looked at the screen with the barest sign he was aware they wanted answers from him.
"Hmmm, so these 'Adalna' are both warriors and academics. Interesting," Fox said loud enough for everyone to hear. Both to bring their attention to something else, and to express his own interest in the Adalna.
"Warrior-scholars. That sounds like an odd combination for a proto-Huntsmen organisation to me. Especially from Vacuo. Most groups I know of are more like nomadic warriors." The other native from Vacuo in the audience, Sun, piped up and said his own thoughts aloud.
"I think it makes sense. Plenty of what we know about Grimm is built on what people in the past observed and understood about them, and who else would have a better understanding than the people who regularly fought the Grimm. What they learned of the Grimm would be valuable for later generations, so they wrote them down to pass their knowledge to us in the present day." The bookish Blake spoke up, the point she shared one many could agree on.
"That is quite true. There were many kinds of proto-Huntsmen organisations in the past. Some could be likened to chivalric knightly orders or mercenary groups. This sounds particularly fascinating, although I have never heard of a place called 'Ranslate' situated in that region of Vacuo." Ozpin added to what Blake had said, sharing his own insights on their version of Remnant. He had set up a good few in a few lifetimes, each one meeting with varying levels of success.
"Another difference between our world and theirs, I guess." Salem remarked, having also been aware of the many proto-Huntsmen groups that formed in the centuries before the Great War. Because she directly or indirectly caused the downfall of some of those organisations.
"All that changed after the Great War."
At the mention of the Great War, the mood in the auditorium immediately took a nosedive. The Great War was a pivotal but tragic part of Remnant's history, that irreversibly changed their world. Only a rare few settled areas were not affected by the war. Almost all settlements, be they big or small, were forced to change during and after the conflict and the audience wondered how the Adalna and Ranslate faced the terrors of the Great War.
"With the enlistment of many good soldiers and fighters, Ranslate suffered as all the other cities in Remnant did." The silhouettes around Ranslate disappeared, and the background around the city darkened as the warriors were replaced by images of Beowolves and then people with weapons pointed at Ranslate. "Grimm attacks rose, drawn from the citizens left at home fearing for their husbands, fathers, sons, and brothers in the war. Bandits from outside the cities also began taking advantage of their defencelessness."
"That's horrible." Velvet murmured as she recalled her parents' stories of the war and how their family back then were affected by it. Every family had stories to tell of the Great War. Of relatives who either fought in it or had to endure the numerous shortages and Grimm attacks if they remained at home.
"No matter how many times I hear about it, hearing of the Great War is always... difficult." Winter admitted, half to the people around her and half to herself. Alongside the terrible events that occurred during the war, Mantle's part in causing the Great War made most Atlesians feel a little uncomfortable.
"Yeah. I think the same goes for all of us." If Jaune had Crocea Mors on him, he would have looked down and held it. His weapon earned renown for itself and its wielder during the Great War, that wielder being his great-great-grandfather. As renowned as both weapon and wielder might have become, they had earned it in very dark times. That did not mean he thought less of his great-great-grandfather or anything, it just added some weight to his shoulders whenever he pulled the blade out from its scabbard.
"So how did the Adalna handle all these problems?" Said Yatsuhashi, giving voice to the question several in the audience were now thinking. Their initial description did not leave much to create a proper impression of the group, but those who cared hoped they were decent people. How the Great War might change the Adalna worried some.
"The Adalna began taking drastic measures to defend Ranslate; enacting curfews, tightening security, becoming uncharacteristically hostile to anyone not from Ranslate." Cloaked warriors wielding two long daggers appeared to stand against their enemies. The scene transitioned as the narrator spoke to an inn or a similar such establishment, where silhouettes of people were shown in despondent positions at tables. All but one. "The first new leader of the Adalna that was chosen during the time of the Great War was a woman named Verbena, a ruthless middle-aged killer. Rumour says she was a pirate once, and her deed don't disprove it."
Panning to the left, the screen focused on the purple silhouette of a woman with shoulder-length hair, wearing a cloak, and a tall cup in hand. Shortly after she came into view the woman turned to look at the audience, a devious smirk and look being sent their way.
"She was merely a traveller at the time who was trapped there by the war. But she proved capable in fighting back bandits that set their sights on the town." Now this Verbana woman was standing with a map of southwest Sanus in the background, her hood raised, and a long dagger with a wavy design near the guard in her hand. Her silhouette was then shown striking aggressive poses as members of the Adalna appeared on the screen to face bandits and the Grimm. "She joined the Adalna, and eventually with her leadership, they went on a hunt that brutally crippled the bandits of Vacuo, forcing them into the desert wilds. With her at the helm, they made short work of the Grimm as well, slaughtering all they could find."
"They let that kind of person into their ranks?" Pyrrha's jaw looked as though it were about to hit the floor after hearing about Verbana and her joining the Adalna.
"And be their leader?" Emerald added, equally as astonished by this as everyone else. Not by how someone of Verbana's character could join this organisation, but how Verbana became leader of the group. It honestly impressed the thief.
"Must have been desperate if they did. The Great War was hard for practically everyone, and people made decisions they never thought of making before circumstances forced them to. Such as the ceasefires that occurred to fight off Grimm drawn to their battles, or the acceptance of Faunus into their ranks." Qrow sighed, the mention of bandits in this viewing made a frown form on his face. "Of course, not all decisions made were good."
"Sounds as though she was effective, though. That is often what it is more accepted in Vacuo," Fox spoke up again. Sharing more information on his homeland with the rest of the audience.
"But at what cost?" Ruby asked, the younger scythe-wielder felt concern over how the Adalna would be affected by Verbana's leadership.
"It sounds as though they were beyond looking at costs at that point. The measures they took are... less than great." Yang pointed out to her sister and the rest of the audience could not help but agree. The curfews, tightening of security, and hostility towards outsiders would have produced an uncomfortable environment that would be rife with negative emotions. Adding a shady character like Verbana may not have felt like as big as deal to them as the audience thought it to be, especially with the reduced manpower in Ranslate.
"As the war drew to a close in the Vacuo campaign, she ordered the Adalna had to retreat back to Ranslate. It was then discovered that she was a wanted criminal from Vale, but that did not matter."
The map of Vacuo was displayed once again, and the symbols of the four Kingdoms were seen clashing together in the desert. All the while the symbol of the Adalna was seen moving away from the fighting and down the peninsula back to Ranslate.
"She had saved Ranslate from the Grimm and bandits, and so she was awarded the seat of the leader of the Adalna." Verbana now appeared on a chair with steepled hands and legs crossed. Looking on as two subordinates stood at a table and looked over papers, a bloody dagger pinning one sheet to it. "As a result of the war, the Adalna's reputation changed from that of scholars and defenders to merciless killers. This reputation drew in more and more individuals of questionable backgrounds, seeking on the thrill of combat, or asking to hire the Adalna to perform assassinations for political or personal gain. Verbana did not mind either. She was used to blood money, and soon the Adalna would have to become used to it too."
"A terrible shame." Ironwood shook his head in disappointment after hearing what the Adalna had become under Verbana's leadership. He had an inkling this would happen after listening to the description of Verbana and her elevation to leader of the group, but to hear his guess be confirmed was still saddening to him. He was not the only one who felt this way, as the professors in the audience shuddered at the thought of their Academy turning into nothing more than a den of mercenaries and hired assassins.
"How sad," Salem said with an utter lack of empathy for the Adalna. She had seen organisations rise and fall like this more times than she cared to count, so she was rather numb to it all. She also reasoned that the Adalna's fall from grace would add another tool for this world's Salem to use against Ozpin, if she did exist in it.
"If that Verbana were here, I'd give her a piece of my mind!" Yang angrily said, balling a fist as she spoke.
"From what we've seen of her, I'd think twice about that." Seeing the questioning looks being sent his way, Ren elaborated on his remark. "This Verbana woman... she is dangerous. Like Roman Torchwick over there, but more so."
"I'll take that as a compliment, kiddo!" Roman called out to Ren, although the boy and most others in the auditorium shot him dirty looks or ignored him completely.
"Ren's right. She could have her Aura unlocked, and given her character and years of experience, students like us should be cautious of fighting a person like her." Velvet said, adding to what Ren had said. With her input, it became clearer to those who were still trying to understand what Ren had meant in his earlier observation.
Roman was dangerous criminal, one of the most dangerous in Vale. Yet the girls of RWBY had thwarted his plans in the past out of a combination of skill, teamwork, and to be honest luck at times. But in the case of Verbana, a woman whose crimes likely involved a lot more blood than the orange-haired man, if they ever got into a fight with her, would any of those even the odds the students faced if they faced her? Would any of them come out of that fight alive?
The veteran Huntsmen might, but what if she had her Aura unlocked? It that were the case, it would add to how dangerous a person she was. If it were the case that Verbana's Aura was not unlocked, then it spoke of her natural abilities and the lengths she could go to achieve something. A shame that she had to be such a despicable person.
"Over the next eighty years, the Adalna's purpose was lost, now existing in Ranslate as a glorified mob with which to contract murders." The Adalna symbol was over Ranslate now, with three Adalna warriors guarding it. At first the symbol was the blue the audience were first introduced to, but that quickly changed as it became red and white. The red making it appear like a white snake whose head and tail were splattered with blood. "Still, Ranslate looked to the Adalna to protect its borders from bandits, and the Adalna delivered, albeit with far more prejudice than necessary. For this, the government of Ranslate turned a blind eye, and the Adalna's members still wear an embarrassingly weak illusion of nobility. And it is this nobility that blinds its future."
Now what the audience had learnt of Verbana left most with a very poor opinion of her to say the very least. Well, unless you were a selfish bastard like Roman or a venomous witch like Cinder. Those two were honestly impressed with Verbana with fewer reservations when compared to the other audience members. The latter being less obvious with her thoughts because it would be the height of stupidity to show off such beliefs while in the same room as the likes of Ozpin. Meanwhile, Roman just did not care what everyone else thought of him.
"Ugh. The more I hear of this, the sadder all of this is." Neptune shook his head and sighed, the Adalna's fall from grace had caused his heart and that of many others to sink.
"And it sounds as though the Kingdom of Vacuo will or can do nothing about it. Typical," Winter disdainfully said. The Kingdom of Vacuo in their world was the weakest of the four Kingdoms because of its inability to project authority, as most of its citizens outside their capital cared little for rules, and it appeared the same could be said of the Vacuo of this world. A saddening situation, and to hear how that was being taken advantage of here was disheartening.
"You might not believe it, but Verbana soon enough found a husband, a swordsmith named Adamai Umber." Appearing on the screen were two people standing beside each other. One was Verbana, while the other was a red silhouette of a man with his hand on the pommel of a sword.
"The man their daughter Rosemary was wed to became the next leader of the Adalna. This man, Vibrante Upsdellia, was personally trained by Verbena to lead this new, darker, and more violent Adalna." As she said their names, two more silhouettes standing back-to-back appeared below Verbana and Adamai. A woman with pinkish hair, who could only be Rosemary. And a man with long red hair who must have been the Vibrante the narrator mentioned.
The narrator was right earlier. The audience did find it hard to believe Verbana could have married anyone.
"Some sap married that viper?" Sun exclaimed with a loud tsk as he folded his arms over his chest.
"Can't imagine how that happened. Either she was very persuasive, or they were two peas in a pod." Nora thumbed her chin in thought for a moment, before a disgusted look took over her face and she stuck her tongue out as though she had put something rotten in her mouth.
"Marriage is a funny thing. Same can be said for emotions. You never know what they can make people do," said Weiss. This marriage brought to mind her own parents' marriage, and how the actions of both shaped their children. They were not a happy family, which was a generous description of their situation, but she could not begin to imagine what the family dynamic in Verbana's family would be. Who knows, maybe it could be worse than her own.
"With a parent like Verbana and living in a place like Ranslate. Boy, I can smell the emotional baggage from here." Emerald crossed her arms and sent a quick glance over towards Mercury, who was none too pleased to hear her say that.
"Shut up, Em. I'm not the only one here with emotional baggage" Mercury scowled at his green-haired companion. A dark expression was on his face, which made Emerald pause and then drop the retort she planned the throw back at him.
Off to the side, a certain Huntsman had quite a few thoughts running through his head at the moment.
"A kid, huh?" Qrow narrowed his eyes. Verbana reminded him of Raven, and he was not happy about it. Both women were dangerous and in charge of a group of people that caused misery for others as a way of life. What was more, they married and had children.
Casting his eyes over to Yang, he hoped in his heart that Rosemary did not get caught up in the Adalna's dirty business. He had done his best to do that for Yang. To keep her away from the life Raven was leading after she left to be back with the tribe, but, unlike his niece, Rosemary was in the thick of it all. Was there anyone there to help Rosemary? Did anyone in that family, Ranslate even, that cared for her like Ruby and Taiyang did for Yang?
And this Vibrante kid. Nothing good was going to come of him being trained by Verbana. He could see this, as could almost everyone else in the audience. A point which would be confirmed by what would come up next.
"She filled his mind with illusions of duty and nobility, true at some point in history of course, but certainly not anymore. She deluded him with the images of the Adalna that she singlehandedly destroyed. And she passed away, and so did Adamai."
"I'd say rest in peace. But with all Verbana's done and the mess she will no doubt leave, I'd say peace is the least she deserves." Coco crossed her arms and felt little for Verbana except spite for what she had done to the Adalna.
"Same here." Mercury said, adding his voice to those expressing disdain towards Verbana. Now this was not an act meant to maintain a cover or anything, he legitimately disliked Verbana as well. For she reminded him of his father and screw him and anything that raised the old man back up in his mind.
"But even while dead it sounds like Verbana's left a mess for the word to clean up. This protege of hers will lead the Adalna in the way she wanted him to, and it sounds as though he'll keep them working as hired assassins." Jaune was disgusted like everyone else was. He could also imagine the various ways that Vibrante could make the Adalna a worse organisation to be a part of.
"Actions have consequences, students. The Great War and the Adalna's choice to admit Verbana into their ranks are both examples you can all learn from." Glynda spoke up, wanting the Academy students in the auditorium to learn and understand this lesson. Oobleck might have put it better, but it appeared that they had grasped what she had told them. If nothing else, this whole situation could be very educational for the students.
Vibrante now stood, draped in a brown cloak lined with red and a hood raised over his head. The background behind him red as blood.
"The Adalna beginning is lost, and its end had begun eighty years ago."
"Whelp. That was the Adalna. What do you think?" Alaric asked the audience as the screen faded to black.
"Sad. Yeah, sad is how I feel about them." Ruby was the first to speak. She had quietly hoped that at the end the Adalna might find some way to bring themselves back to what they had once been. Becoming again the scholarly defenders they had once been. But those hopes were dashed with that last sentence the narrator spoke.
"It looked as though they started out with much promise, but time made a tragedy out of them." Ren added to what his fellow student had said with a deep sigh.
"Geez. The Great War really screwed them and Ranslate over." Neptune said in a voice filled with pity.
"It wouldn't be the only place." Qrow intoned, his mind going to a few other locations in Remnant that had fallen or turned out for the worst after the Great War. The first one which came to mind being the city of Mantle.
"Everything may look bleak for the Adalna and Ranslate, but it will never always be this way." Ozpin spoke up, deciding to throw in some sagely wisdom to do something about the current atmosphere. "As the passage of time changed both for the worst, time can also change them for the better. Be it the right chain of events, or someone deciding that the current status quo cannot stand, change will come. Our own world is living proof of this."
Hearing the Headmaster of Beacon's words, the people in the audience each reacted differently.
For the 'good guys', they were inspirational and moving. The Great War, while terrible and full of tragedy, sparked a new era for the people of Remnant. The four Kingdoms were more unified, and the introduction of Huntsmen meant the world had dedicated protectors against Grimm. For the Faunus in the audience, although the situation with their race was far from optimal, their lives were arguably better in plenty of places and the continued efforts of genuinely helpful groups were steadily improving them. Others who experienced hardship, like Jaune who could barely fight for shit or Weiss who had been lonely for a long while, reflected on the change in their situations, and agreed with the Headmaster.
For the 'bad guys', well, they too could not help but agree, although they obviously had their own reasons. For Cinder she believed her life had become better, as very few held true power over her. Emerald was no longer in the streets and Mercury, well, he killed his father. Adam was, in his perspective, changing the lives of the Faunus for the better, but was doing it by being a terrorist asshole. Roman and Neo agreed because change brought the two of them together and could be helpful in their 'job' as notorious criminals.
"Interesting. I wonder how you will all feel about this next one. From the same universe, in fact." Alaric said after hearing the audience out. With a press of his phone's screen, the next viewing began.
World of Remnant - Florence
The screen was completely black once again and after a moment, the word 'FLORENCE' appeared like the title of the last viewing the audience watched. Just like the last viewing a narrator began to speak when a map of Remnant appeared, although this time the narrator was male, and the screen was focusing on the continent of Solitas.
"There are many prosperous and well-known families in the Kingdom of Atlas. Not so coincidentally they're usually in charge of a very profitable business in the Kingdom as well."
Upon hearing the narrator's words, all members of the audience turned their heads and looked at Weiss and Winter. Unless you were living under a rock or in the most isolated parts of Remnant, practically everyone in the civilised world knew how influential the Schnees were in both Atlas and the other Kingdoms. The Schnee sisters noticed their fellow audience members' looks and ignored them for now.
"Sooo... Will we hear mention of the Schnee family and the SDC in this one?" Penny asked Alaric, one of the few who was not gazing at the two sisters right now.
"You will. Spoilers though, they will simply be mentions and play no large part in this viewing." The audience's robed host replied. Hearing this, the Schnee sisters were silently glad that would be the case, for they were not yet ready to hear what their family might be like or what business practises they performed in another universe just yet.
"Perhaps some of the most well-known are the Schnees' with their massive dust mining industry, or the Lejonets with their jewellery being the top earner in Atlas. Perhaps you've heard of the Seirens with their monopoly on the fishing business off the east coast of Atlas, but today, we're going to talk about one family in particular. The Florence family."
While the narrator listed off the families, the symbols of each family appeared. The easily recognisable snowflake of the Schnees. A brown lion's head which the audience could only assume to belong to Lejonets. And a blue trident with a fish coiling around it was likely the symbol of the Seirens. These three appeared side by side, although the last one, which took up the centre of the screen after the other three faded away, was an orange symbol that resembled an iris flower. If you squinted and knew what an iris flower was beforehand that is, for to some it looked like a horseshoe crab.
"As with the Adalna, those other three families seem to be exclusive to this universe. Or at least them rising to noteworthy positions has only happened here," said Winter. When she was still the heir of the SDC, the now Specialist was made to familiarise herself with all the big companies and families in Atlas. She still did, but now because it was part of her duty in safeguarding the Kingdom and not because the company would demand it of her.
"Or maybe they were a family in our world that everyone forgot because the SDC pushed them out of business, and whatever they filled the market they were in with gaudily branded SDC products." Adam sneered at Winter.
"I'm sorry, but did you try to say something intelligent? For all I heard coming out of your mouth was bullshit." Winter snapped at the White Fang cell leader, her eyes flashing dangerously at him. Yes, the SDC did indeed do that, but she refused to let a terrorist lecture her on moral business practise.
A few in the audience blinked in shock or looked on with unease at the two's exchange. Although they had no weapons, a fight between the two could still be deadly if they used their fists alone and not many were too keen about being caught in between the two if they did fight. Both were powerful and skilled combatants, and it would likely take the intervention of the older figures in the auditorium to stop either of the two from ripping the other's throats out.
Meanwhile, those who knew Winter personally had never or rarely heard her speak with such venom in her voice or use such crass language until now and it caught them by surprise. Weiss in particular was struck by her sister's behaviour. It did stun her, but she was also weirdly proud of Winter, for such behaviour would not have been approved by their father.
After a minute where the two were made to calm down by Alaric, the viewing continued, and the audience got a better idea of just what it would be focusing on.
"If there's ever been any fishy family in the Kingdom, it's bound to be these guys. The Florence family is the proprietor of the Florentina Corporation, which builds factory equipment and industrial machines for local and intercontinental use." The Florence symbol shrank away until it vanished, and after the map of Remnant disappeared as well, images of factory equipment, cogs, and a factory. "Since the average civilian doesn't use industrial equipment every day like they use Dust, the Florentina corporation's reputation has been far more out of the spotlight compared to the Schnee Dust Company's. And if you look at it, there is nothing much to slander. The FC pays its labourers well and complies with worker union standards."
"That is good to hear. The last part that is," Jaune exclaimed. He was worried the Florentina Corporation would be one of those overly greedy companies that mistreated its workers and did dodgy business practises for the sake of profit. The family that owned the company, as well as the main focus of the viewing, seemed to be a different story.
"But. Come on, there's always a but when it comes to this kind of stuff." Yang could see what was coming a mile away. The Florences may look fairly clean now, but as the narrator had said, they had been a sketchy bunch before this. The big question on her mind, and that of others, was just how 'fishy' were they. She also believed the narrator could have through a good pun in there somewhere, but not everyone was Yang.
"My guess is that at best the family will be full of internal drama, and at worst they do some pretty horrible stuff. Don't know what, but it'll be bad either way. Just putting my thoughts out now," Neptune spoke up and described his thoughts.
"Have to agree with the kid on this. After what we heard from the Adalna and the narrator's own words, I'm leaning on the 'pretty horrible stuff'." Qrow said, agreeing with the blue-haired Mistralian. He had a bad feeling about the Florences and had mentally braced himself for whatever messed up stuff the family got themselves involved with.
"You're all in a sunny mood right now." Alaric said in a nonchalant tone, leaning forward in his chair slightly and turning his head between the peoples sat in the auditorium.
"After the Adalna, I would be surprised if any of us were." Fox looked back at their host, who jumped back slightly when his eyes when Fox's blank white ones.
"Atlas," Cinder muttered under her breath. She hard feelings toward the city and would only be pleased to hear about the place if the city experienced a catastrophic event of some kind. In fact, she would not mind seeing a certain hotel blow up, catch fire, or be destroyed in any fashion that saw it reduced to rubble and ash.
"But I'm not here to talk about its business. I'm here to talk about its family." The map and other images faded away and were replaced by the symbol of the Florence family flanked by two yellow silhouettes. The one to its left was a man in a business suit with a low ponytail, and the silhouette to the right a man with long unkempt hair shouldering a two-handed hammer. "Its current CEO, Azurin Florence, is the great-grandson and only surviving heir of the company's founder, Leo Florence.
"It was way before the Great War, back to when the epicentre of the activity in Solitas was Mantle, not yet Atlas." Back to a map of Remnant, Mantle was shown with the Florence symbol appearing over it. "The Florences were pretty big back in Mantle, almost as big as the Schnees are now in now in Atlas. The thing is, they didn't get there like the Schnees did."
"Mantle? Yes, this really must have been a long while ago. The city's relevance has been on the decline for decades now." Penny stated, recalling what she knew of the city below Atlas and how it was no longer as important to the Kingdom both politically and economically. Make no mistake, it was still of value to the Kingdom, but living in the shadow of Atlas had negatively affected the city for a long time now.
"No thanks to a certain bunch of people," Adam scowled under his mask at the Schnees and Ironwood.
"Oh joy," Weiss sarcastically mumbled under her breath after hearing the last sentence, ignoring the jab sent at her and the other Atlesians. Despite how the SDC was being run today, its formation and rise to prominence was a great point of pride for Weiss. Particularly the exploits of her grandfather, Nicholas Schnee. The same could be said of her sister. Hearing their rise to prominence was unlike their own family did not help the assuage any fears or unease some of the audience felt toward the Florences.
"Florence. Doesn't bring any colour associations to my mind. Their first names do, but their surname does not." Velvet spoke up, bringing up it to the attention of the other audience members.
"It must be an old family name that they decided to keep after the Great War, then. There were plenty of names before the Great War did not have any colour associations in mind, and many families either adjusted or completely changed theirs to abide by the new rules laid out." Glynda said, again entering teacher mode despite their situation. "Although there exists the likelihood that there is a colour association there, but the meaning is not clear to us."
"Ah, your world's colour naming rule. Just saying, but it is both fun and confusing to me." Alaric chimed in from where he was sat. The hooded man refused to elaborate further on why exactly he thought this way, leaving the audience to guess and keep on watching.
"The family started out as a business for selling winter clothes and gear." A pair of silhouettes were shown together, a yellow one behind a window stall listening to the other coloured white as they asked for one of the ice axes beside the orange individual. "But they ran a couple of side businesses out of the back door; a protection racket for one."
Panning to the left, the scene changed to a white silhouette cowering in fear of a Beowolf. Another silhouette, maybe the same one from behind the stall appeared next, a curved sword in hand and ready to fight off the Creature of Grimm.
"Before the wonderful advent of Huntsmen and Huntresses, people in Mantle were desperate for any protection from the Creatures of Grimm and would pay through the nose for it. The Florences were good at fending off the Grimm, but they were also good at intimidation. Particularly via property damage. And if that happens to you, apart from being vulnerable, you'd be pretty unhappy. And unhappiness is what brings the Grimm."
Another yellow silhouette appeared behind the armed individual, his only weapon the douchebag grin on his face as a burning house appeared behind the white individual. The fire then disappeared, and so did the two yellow figures, leaving the white one alone with the Beowolf and another that joined its kin.
"Turns out your guess wasn't wrong," Mercury said to Neptune from his side of the auditorium. He knew something like this was coming and did not feel fazed by it.
"Yeah, but I really wish that was not the case." Neptune rubbed the temples on the side of his head.
"This is horrible." Ruby gasped, her eyes as wide as dinner plates and her hands nearly covering her mouth. The Florence family were providing a good service to people in protecting and supplying people, but she could not believe they were willing to withdraw that support and harm those same people for their own selfish ends. She knew there many were bad people in the world, but this was something else.
"Yeah, it is Ruby. Sadly enough, there were and still are horrible people willing to do this type of stuff." Yang leaned over and hugged her younger sister, rubbing a shoulder of the red hooded girl in an attempt to comfort her. The anger welling inside of her superseded by her desire to be there for Ruby.
"Don't worry friend Ruby. If there are still these types of people out there, we can go and bring them to justice together in the future." Penny joined the two sisters and put a hand on the same shoulder Yang was holding. She was supposed to be the newest protector of Remnant against the Creatures of Grimm. But hearing of all this, Penny resolved to one day protect the people of Remnant from others who wanted to harm them for their own advantage as well.
"So you could say business was pretty good. Soon they had earned enough money to start going into politics themselves. Don't ask me how many votes they got. Either they had more money than on record, were real charmers, or the voting populace back then were just pretty dumb. In any case, they held seats in city councils and the business grew from embezzled taxes and pork-barrel funds. They moved into the machinery business and the construction business as well."
A Florence stood behind a pedestal with their family insignia on its front, making a speech to a crowd of people. Then it transitioned to that same figure behind a table with a bag of Lien and a stack of cards as well. With the image of a skyscraper being constructed and interlocking cogs appearing soon after.
"And then the events of that led to the Great War happened. Mantle's decree to abandon the arts and self-expression in hopes of deterring the Grimm attacks was passed. Many people approved, but a silent majority didn't like it at all. Turns out when you're trying to suppress someone's emotion, it only gets stronger."
"Members of a family mired in corruption getting into positions of power in politics. I pray that never happens in our future. Especially people like the Florence family." Pyrrha commented. She was aware that there had been and still was corruption in the Councils of the four Kingdoms, but she hoped nothing nearly as bad as these Florence characters took seats on the Councils.
"No kidding. That could spell doom for whatever Kingdom puts them into power." Jaune shuddered at the thought.
Alaric suddenly coughed loudly, although the keener of hearing in the audience believed they heard him say something in-between coughs. It was too quick for them to make out what exactly he might have said. One of the words Alaric might have said sounded as though it started with the letter 'J', but apart from that they could not make out anything else.
"The Great War, again." Ironwood said, not at all surprised to hear it being mentioned once again in this viewing. And it seemed as though they would also take a look at how the anti-arts decree was handled by the Kingdom, and mainly the Florence family.
"It seems as though we will be exploring how it affected this world's Atlas in the same way we saw how Ranslate was affected." Glynda added, her mind going to the history lessons Oobleck would give in Beacon. Part of his curriculum covered several aspects of the Great War, which included the home fronts of the participating Kingdoms.
"Hopefully it doesn't turn out as badly as what happened with the Adalna." Ozpin joined in and threw his own thoughts. He was not optimistic of the chances but hoped either way that it did not go that far in this viewing.
"Seeing a chance for more income, the Florences established a number of... I would say 'speakeasies', but they were more like circuses, really. In these contained underground establishments, people were free to express themselves as they had before. Singing, dancing, partying, gambling, games; you name it. It was all there. After all, the Florences were good at protecting people from the Grimm. So what did their customers have to lose? Besides Lien, of course, but you know, the thrill of breaking the law is worth the entrance fee."
As the narrator spoke, images of shadows approaching a door was then replaced by a pair of entertainers performing on a well-lit stage. One was purple and playing a saxophone, while his companion in green danced with a fan in one hand. In front of the stage, a crowd of people applauded and cheered as they drank in the entertainers' performance.
"Hmmm. A really good money-making scheme they got for themselves. They must have made a profit of them for sure," Roman commented. The Florence family already caught his interest when the narrator explained their origins as protection racketeers, and now they had really drawn him in.
Beside him, Neo was making mental notes of the Florences and their activities. She had done the same with the Adalna. It was not as though the two would replicate exactly what the Florences had achieved in their world, but if circumstances created an opening for them to pull something similar off and with great benefit to themselves, there would be no harm in keeping all this in mind.
"Weren't there places like this during our world's Great War? Speakeasies for those who didn't like the anti-arts decree?" Yang recalled hearing Professor Oobleck talk about life in Atlas in the lead up to and during the Great War. Like in this world, not everyone agreed with the decree to ban the arts and other forms of self-expression, so they opened up secrets places where they could indulge in both away from the prying eyes of the government.
"They did. In fact, I believe a good number of bars and nightclubs in Mantle were originally establishments like these speakeasies." Velvet replied, also remembering those lessons and hearing stories of them from her father, who actually took her to a couple of those places when she went to see him in Atlas.
"Ooh! According to estimates, there were roughly over twenty-thousand illegal speakeasy establishments in the city of Mantle alone during the period of the Great War. After the Great War ended, roughly a third of that number converted into legal bars, taverns, nightclubs, and other entertainment locales." Penny abruptly spoke up, catching everyone else off-guard and causing them to look at her. After they had gazed at her for more than five seconds, the robot girl talked once more. "Friend Ruby here says sharing facts that are 'cool' is a good way of socialising with others."
"Um, okay." Sun blinked and looked between the two girls awkwardly. If he had to take a guess, that almost sounded as though it might have been verbatim from an informational website on the internet.
"That is nice of you do, Ruby." Cinder joined in, a faux smile on gave the red hooded girl a compliment she did not truly mean.
"Oh, uh, th-thanks!" Ruby stuttered in response. Everyone in the auditorium was looking at both her and Penny, and, being the adorably socially awkward girl she was, Ruby started to freak out over all the attention being sent her way.
"Things were looking up for the Florences' until the 'incident'. You see, a few years before, they had started looking into the Dust mining business." Three Dust crystals appeared from the bottom of the screen and slowly went to the top, the symbol of a red bull's head fading into view at the screen's centre. "In those days, the kings of the Dust Empire were the Borjan, and they didn't like the Florences moving in on their business. They reacted... rather violently."
A map of the southern coast of Solitas now encompassed the screen and twelve fires appeared.
"Twelve of the Florence establishments were raided all at once, and though only one could be traced back to the Borjan family, the Florence dynasty went to war."
"So, in this world the Borjans were the ones who dominated the Dust industry before the Schnees stepped into the picture." Blake hummed, a bit discomforted by the red bull's head the Borjans used as a symbol for a reason that wielded a katana, had red hair, and wore mostly black.
"And it looks as though they have just as, if not fewer, scruples when it comes to taking out the competition." Qrow not surprised to hear that the Borjans chose violence instead of trying to work things out with the Florence family. He had seen people choose to think with their fists before their brains plenty of times, and, although the narrator had not described the Borjans to the audience, he got the vibe that they were not the most pleasant of people to be around.
"Borjans. Again, another name I do not recall hearing about in our own world." Ren noted, the name never coming up in the history books he read. Especially those related to Dust and the industries surrounding it.
"Whether we've heard of them or not, it looks like the Florences bit off more than they could chew with the Borjans." Yatsuhashi remarked, frowning at the violent reaction the Borjans had towards facing competition from the Florences. The Florences were no saints, sure, but the Borjans attacking them was not excusable to the tall Huntsman-in-Training.
"Maybe. But the Florences are still around, so let's wait and see before making such assumptions." Coco frowned at the screen from behind her shades as well. She thought the same as her teammate on the conflict between the two and could already see the fallout of conflict between the families. Disruption of peoples' lives, negative emotions that would draw in Grimm, and death.
"A complicated set of events followed. Some too weird to be fact but are, and some believable but are utter gossip. Grimm being used as catapult ammunition, raids of Borjan establishments, a bard working for the Florences incapacitating Borjans with his horrible lute playing, an entire marketplace descending into chaos from a Florence versus Borjan showdown, a wedding for an arranged Borjan marriage to the Lejonet industry heir crashed by Florences."
As the narrator described each event in this war between the Florences and Borjans, images depicting a handful of them were put on display. The unmistakable silhouette of a Boarbatusk flying at a multi-storey building. A Florence kneeling behind a box and armed with a rifle exchanging gunfire with a red silhouette armed with a handgun and stood behind a stall. Then two silhouettes, one a man in red and the other a woman in brown, looking up as a Florence wielding a sword smashed through a window.
"Hell, the only reason they even got away with all of it without the full force of the Kingdom's military being thrown on them was because the army of Mantle was all the way across the sea fighting Vale in the Great War." Both family symbols appeared side by side in front of a map of Solitas and fires that took up half of the screen.
The audience members reactions were mixed when they heard of some of the lengths the Florences and Borjans would go to for the sake of winning this war between their families.
"Well, damn. This is even wilder than some of the big gang wars that happen in Mistral." Roman whistled in both surprise and admiration for the lengths the two families would go to be the top dog in Atlas. He would not have minded being there, if not to profit off the two families' feud, then to enjoy the show instead. As the narrator had said, it was not as though the kingdom's government would have been able to do much about it anyway.
Beside him, Neo was equally amazed by the fighting between the Florences and the Borjans. In fact, she was mildly excited by what she saw. As with Roman, if either of the two were present during this war between families she could see the two of them working for both sides, getting into all sorts of hair-raising trouble with the local government and the families themselves, and then walking out there after making a tidy amount of money from the whole affair. Yes, as far as she saw things, the whole conflict between the Florences and Borjans was full of opportunities that she and Roman missed on.
While the two criminals were having a ball of a time right now, the majority of the other audiences were far from pleased by what they were seeing and hearing. The fighting in the marketplace would be chaotic, especially if there were other people there, and could have resulted in the wounding or deaths of innocent bystanders. The crashing of a wedding was shocking in how brazen it felt, for another of the major families of Atlas was involved in it. And then there was the most prominent of the three examples given. The Boarbatusk.
"That-That was a Boarbatusk. Did a side seriously throw Boarbatusks at the other's buildings?" Pyrrha was already shocked by the fact the Florences and Borjans were fighting each other while their Kingdom was at war, but to see how far they might have taken it was on another level.
"Even for me that is going way to far." Nora added, the excitement that was usual in her voice gone at the moment. She was all for using Grimm as projectiles, so long as they were being used against other Creatures of Grimm. Preferably thanks to a good whack of her hammer. But for them to be used against people was one of the shittiest things to do.
"You would have to be the most short-sighted idiot in the entire world to do so! Purposefully bringing Grimm into a highly populated environment can only go one way. People die and the terror they spread will bring more!" Ironwood was fuming at the idea of either family using such a tactic alongside the other actions they took for nothing but selfish desires.
"It might just be a rumour. The narrator said some of it was merely gossip, and the whole Grimm catapult ammunition might be one of them. I mean, it's too ridiculous and dangerous to have happened. Right Mr Alaric?" Glynda had seen plenty of stuff across the years, and while she could believe the others happened, the whole Grim ammunition did not sound real to her. In order to confirm whether or not her belief was true or not, she turned to Alaric for an answer.
Unfortunately, Alaric was not forthcoming with any answers as to whether or not the Grimm catapult thing had occurred. Nor did he deny or confirm what other events during this time were true. He just sat back in his chair with legs crossed and mouth shut, if he had one under that mask that is.
"It was rather strange, all of it, but undeniably violent. It'll take forever to detail it all so I'll just tell you the results: Mantle was pretty ravaged by the time it was over, which would explain why so many non-combatant people were so willing to move from Mantle to Atlas. The Borjan family was destroyed and their Dust empire left in ruins. The Florence family lost lives, property, and reputation, but the end of the day there were more Florence's alive than there were Borjans."
The fires died away, as did the Borjan symbol which faded until it disappeared from the screen. Leaving the Florence symbol to take a prime spot in the centre. Its orange colour became darker, and it became simplified by losing four pieces not connected to the symbol's main body.
"They retired to the one legitimate business they had left: the machinery development business. That's what they centralised the Florentina Corporation around and all other illicit business faded away, but the stain on their family will never be wiped clean." Cogs appeared behind the Florence symbol, but both were replaced shortly after by two new images. The easily recognisable snowflake of the Schnee family, and a muscular brown silhouette holding up an ice blue Dust crystal and wearing a red scarf. "After the war, the Schnees took over the monopoly on the Dust that the Borjans left behind. And the Florences would never touch the Dust business again, not even with a ninety-mile stick."
"What a shame. Both sides were more than willing to ruin each other and themselves rather than make compromises that would benefit all," Ozpin shook his head. An all-too-common occurrence he had seen in the past and present.
"I would not cry for these people. They brought this on themselves, did they not?" Salem said with an unsympathetic tone. She already did not care for the people in this world they were watching, and hearing of how much this conflict cost them did not shake her views or feelings towards them.
Salem's response concerned several of the audience members, for her words and voice had been callous. Yes, not many of the audience members would cry rivers for the Florences and Borjans, but Salem sounded uncaring in a way that felt dark to many. Most still did not know just who this strange woman was and silently questioned how she could be from the same world as them, for no one had seen the likes of her before. None dared say anything yet, because they were still watching something and, let us be honest, she was very unsettling to look at.
"Only one legitimate business. Huh, those Borjans really did a number on them." Roman rubbed his chin as he contrasted how the Florences were such bigshots before becoming another company. It reminded him of how the Xiong family ran the criminal underworld of Vale, but after a short war with Lil' Miss Malachite's organisation, he stepped in and was now the one running the show. Somethings really did not change across worlds after all.
"And that is how the Schnees were able to slide into power in this world." Emerald remarked, seeing little wrong in that. An opportunity had appeared, and they took it, which was something she understood and could even respect to a degree.
"With hard work, honesty, and fair treatment of its workers I might add." Winter said while sending a pointed look over to Adam. The narrator had not confirmed if this world's SDC had risen to prominence like it had in theirs, but she inferred from their few worlds and a gut feeling in her stomach that it had been the case.
Adam looked back at her, the edges of his lips curling into a nasty grimace. Both spent a long moment glaring at each other. The Atlesian Specialist's ice-blue eyes meeting the white and red mask of the White Fang cell leader. Fortunately for all, both broke it off and turned their eyes back to the screen. It looks as though the audience and the auditorium were spared from a fight between the two, for now at least. Weiss was ready to aid her sister if things did turn ugly, and, much to her own surprise, Blake had also found herself ready to Winter's defence. Maybe it was because she just wanted to punch Adam in the face or something.
"So, they really went clean? Or something close to it," Jaune decided to speak in order to take people's mind from Winter and Adam's animosity towards each other. Slowly everyone redirected their attention from the two and, hearing what Jaune had said, looked to their host for an answer.
"As far as I can tell, yes. But who knows, maybe they will turn back to criminality." Alaric replied with a shrug of his shoulders. Acting as though there was no tension in the air around him.
"That would suck," Nora stated. Giving voice and surmising well the thoughts most of the audience had of such a scenario.
"Skip a few decades and the only remnant of the once inglorious Florence family are Azzurin Florence, his wife Fleur Mirasoleil Florence, and their daughter Natalia." The yellow silhouette of that man with the ponytail from earlier in the viewing appearing, followed by a girl in yellow. "It goes to show that when it comes to 'from rags to riches' stories, you really should be taking a closer look at whose throats those rags are choking to see whose pockets those riches are coming from."
And with that the screen faded to black as the viewing ended.
"And that, my dear guests, was the Florence family. What did you think of that?" Alaric asked the people from Remnant, leaning back and resting his chin on the back of his left hand.
"The narrator was not lying when they said the Florence were a fishy bunch. Actually, I think they were underselling how fishy they were with that statement." Fox was the first to speak, the edges of his lips curling downwards.
"The things that family performed for the sake of profit and power, and what they did with both. It makes my blood boil." Ironwood balled the hand of his prosthetic arm hard, the anger he felt nearly taking over him, but he was able to keep a lid on it and cool down after a moment. The ends could justify the means to him, but the ends used by the Florence family of this world did not excuse their methods as far as he was concerned.
"I think I'd get along swimmingly with them," Roman spoke up loud enough for everyone in the audience to hear. Doing so for no other reason than to annoy the hell out of the 'do-gooders' in the auditorium with him. Which it most certainly did.
An opportunity to take it out on Roman materialised, quite literally, when tomatoes appeared in the hands of the audience members. Wasting no time, the likes of Ruby, Yang, Nora, Sun, and a few others threw theirs at Roman. They might have hit Roman and ruined that sweet coat of his in the process, if not for Neo. She deflected each tomato with nothing but her hands, and mocking bowed at the others once that was all done.
"At least the family has improved after the Great War. Their past might haunt them forever, but they can work on improving their future." Weiss said after everyone had settled back into their seats. Although she had never met her and knew very little about her either, Weiss felt a connection to Natalia, the daughter of Azzurin Florence, and wondered what their relationship would be like if they were to meet.
"I agree. The past is the past, and the new generations of Florences ought to be able to live their lives for the better without being judged for their families past actions." Winter also said, adding onto what her younger sister had just spoken.
"Much easier said than done, Ice Queen. But good luck to yo-the Florences." Qrow paused and corrected himself as he was about to finish a word. It sounded as though he was going to direct his words toward the Schnee sisters, however, he changed it at the last second to the family they had just learned of. Both Schnee sisters sent him an indecipherable look, but Qrow had already looked away and taking a drink from his flask to notice them.
"Interesting. That shall be all for now. As with before, have a wander through the Repository if you wish and maybe grab a bite to eat. I will call you when I have something ready for you all." Alaric dismissed his guests as he took out his phone again and disappeared from view. Wherever he had gone, no one knew.
This viewing had revealed a similar but different Remnant to the audience. It was eye-opening for some and saddening for others. Now knowing that it existed, the audience wondered what a Remnant that was more drastically different from theirs could be like, and what other kinds of worlds Alaric planned to show them. Time would tell, and for now they needed a rest.
There we go, another chapter done. I have got a couple chapters in the works, although I can provide no determined date on when they will be done.
I will see you all when I next see you.